Aus der Radiologischen Universitätsklinik Tübingen Abteilung Radiologische Diagnostik Ärztlicher Direktor: Professor Dr. C. D. Claussen Coronary Angiography with Four-row Multidetector Computed Tomography Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Medizin der Medizinischen Fakultät der Eberhard-Karls-Universität zu Tübingen vorgelegt von Jens Martensen aus Hørsholm, Dänemark 2005 Dekan: Professor Dr. C. D. Claussen 1. Berichterstatter: 2. Berichterstatter: Professor Dr. M. Hofbeck To Romana and our daughter Nora-Mia Contents 1. Introduction ..................................................................... 4 1.1. Challenges in Non-invasive Cardiac Imaging .......................................... 5 1.2. Computed Tomography in Cardiac Imaging ............................................ 6 1.2.1. Conventional CT................................................................................ 6 1.2.2. Electron Beam CT............................................................................. 6 1.2.3. Spiral CT ........................................................................................... 8 1.2.4. Multi-Row Spiral CT .......................................................................... 8 1.3. Coronary Artery Disease 9 1.4. Study Objective.....................................................
LAD LAO LCA LCX LM mA MDCTMI MIP ml mm MRI ms PTCA RAO rot t
Acquisition Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Coronary Artery Disease Conventional Coronary Angiography Computer Tomography Computed Tomography Angiography Electron Beam Computer Tomogra Iodine Kilovolt Left Anterior Descending Branch Left Anterior Oblique Projection Left Coronary Artery Left Circumflex Branch Left Main Milliampere Multi-Detector Computer Tomography Myocardial Infarction Maximum Intensity Projection milliliter
millimeter Magnetic Resonance Imaging millisecond Percutanious Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty Right Antrior Oblique Projection Rotation Time
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1. Introduction
Coronary heart disease is the most common cause of death in Europe, accounting for nearly 2 million deaths each year. Over one in five women (22%) and men (21%) die from this disease (82). For a number of years CCA has been without competition in the diagnosis of coronary heart disease, since it is the only established method by which stenosis of coronary vessels can be directly visualized. Furthermore, CCA offers the option of treatment through PTCA and stent implantation. With over 4000 procedures performed per one million inhabitants, Germany is the European country in which the highest number of conventional coronary angiograms is performed (26).The drawbacks of CCA, like its advantages, are inherent to the invasive nature of the procedure. Catherization involves considerable discomfort for the patient and complications ranging from hemorrhage at the site of catheter insertion to coronary rupture may occur. Although severe complications are rare, the risk involved with CCA usually requires a short hospitalization of the patient (56). These drawbacks of CCA must be considered when defining the indication for the procedure, limiting the procedure to high risk patients and patients who already show symptoms of CAD (85). In recent years attempts to develop a non-invasive modality for the detection and visualization of coronary artery stenoses have been made. A modality involving only low patient risk would open the possibility of examining a much larger population of patients. Ideally, such a modality could be used to screen for CAD, resulting in earlier detection, and thus more effective treatment of the disease.
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1.1. Challenges in Non-invasive Cardiac Imaging
The most eminent challenge in non-invasive coronary angiography is image distortion caused by motion. The coronary vessels are not alone subjected to the rapid and often irregular motion of the heart, but also to motion caused by breathing. The adverse effect of breathing merely presents a minor obstacle in coronary angiography since it may be avoided simply by voluntary patient breath hold. In this case the acquisition of the images is limited to the given time window of patient breath hold which is usually no longer than 40 seconds.
Cardiac motion presents the greatest challenge in coronary angiography. Naturally, the motion of the heart may be controlled by pharmacological
substances such asβ-blockers, but adequate depiction of the coronaries is challenging even at slow and steady heart rates. To overcome the obstacle of cardiac motion, modalities for cardiac imaging must be capable of image acquisition with fast temporal resolution. Otherwise, motion artifacts will occur, rendering the images unusable for diagnostic purposes. Another mandatory requirement in coronary angiography is sufficient spatial resolution for the adequate depiction of the small coronary vessels and the plaques that may be present within the vessel walls. Furthermore, non-invasive coronary angiography requires of high contrast resolution in order to properly differentiate the vessel lumen from surrounding tissue. Contrast media may be applied in order to opacify the lumen of coronary structures. But in non-invasive angiography the contrast agent is applied systemically, limiting the possibility of achieving high opacification of the coronary vessels.
Only few imaging modalities such as cardiac MRI, EBCT and MDCT possess the combination of qualities required for non-invasive coronary angiography. Currently, no non-invasive image modality has managed to fully overcome the challenges presented in coronary angiography and CCA remains the gold standard for the detection of CAD.